The Supremacy of the Daleks
by Alund of the Prophecy
Summary: Not a very good story, from my early writing days. Features the 8th Doctor and Sam battling Daleks in a classic, over-the-top, over-detailed story.


The Supremacy of the Daleks  
  
The curvy, thin starship called the TSS Avenger maintained its orbit. On the bridge, Captain Tacanda surveyed his crew as they suited up and strapped in for reentry. Just to remind them, he keyed the inter-ship speakers and spoke to them.  
  
"This is your captain. A reminder to all personnel going on the expedition: we are here to merely locate and take those plans back home. No one is to touch anything in the site at all times. You cannot fully realize what danger you would place this expedition – and perhaps the whole race – into by just flicking the right switch. The site was sealed up for a reason, and that was to keep someone from getting inside and setting it all off. So keep your hands off the equipment and instead on your rifles at all times. That is all."  
  
Then, the ship's engines reversed, and the small excursion vessel plunged into the atmosphere below.  
  
The Doctor adjusted some controls on the TARDIS console as he prepared to land the time vessel on yet another alien world for the umpteenth time. Sam was out trying to find her way through the infinitely huge time craft. She had gathered up a large ball of string to lay behind her as she explored about. The Doctor knew the TARDIS wouldn't let her get lost, so he decided to leave her a note on the console so she'd know where he'd gone.  
  
The time-rotor began to slow down. The Doctor collected the TARDIS key, his sonic screwdriver, his Swiss Army knife, and the other odds and ends he took along with him on his travels. When the time-rotor stopped, he checked the location. Planet Ettylos, year 1999 CE, Earth time, November 4, a Thursday. A bit specific, the locator, but nonetheless entertaining. "It's a Thursday" was always a little joke between the Doctor and Sam every time he checked the instruments. The atmosphere was habitable, no radiation, surface composition basaltic rock and water ice, with some flowing water here and there. Basically a big, rocky, cold desert. Like an English quarry. The Doctor rather liked English quarries. He opened the doors and stepped outside.  
  
The cold air was like a slap in the face after being in the TARDIS' nice, warm environment. Not only was the temperature surprising, but it appeared that a wall of rock was right in front of the TARDIS doors. He looked up. The wall seemed to stretch up for hundreds of feet. The sky was cloudy and gray, very dreary. The TARDIS seemed to have materialized at the far end of a narrow canyon, with its doors almost embedded in the rock face. The Doctor only had about a square foot of rocky floor to maneuver around in. He tried to find a way around the TARDIS, but the police box took up all of the path behind him. He had to go back inside and move the TARDIS. As he was about to turn and enter the friendly blue box, something caught his eye. There was a jagged hole cut in the rock face, and through it shone light. He looked through the hole and found that the whole cliff was only about a few feet thick. Resigning himself, he stuck his head into the hole and pushed himself through to the other side. Clamoring out into the open, he looked back through the hole to see the TARDIS door was still open. Sam would probably close it when she came to follow him, so he left it. Besides, who could be alive in a desert like this?  
  
Interesting. He had almost failed to notice that the hole he'd gone through was the only one in the whole cliff side. What could have cut it? Obviously something unnatural, but he had to look around more to find out. So he set off, his boots leaving definite footprints in the sandy countryside. Unbeknownst to him, the TARDIS key had fallen out of his pocket.  
  
As he went on, he ran into another cliff. It was more of a tall, thin mountain than a cliff. It had a vaguely silo-like shape to it, and inset in the side facing him were a pair of two stout iron doors. The mountain was unbelievably tall, thin, and jagged. It was jutting out of a nearly flat plain of rock in the center of what appeared to be a huge crater. But the doors were what interested him the most. Doors in the side of a mountain. Odd. Then he nearly slapped his forehead in realization. An underground city! Or maybe a facility in the mountain! He had to know.  
  
As he neared the doors, he noticed that they were welded shut. That kind of put a crease in his exploration. But why seal up those doors? Maybe there's something inside that is meant to be kept secret. Or, even nastier, something's inside that shouldn't be let out. But he simply had to get inside. His curiosity always got the better of him in these kinds of situations.   
  
Captain Tacanda picked up the strange object at his feet. It was a flat, one-inch long piece of metal on a chain. What it was doing by this cliff he hadn't that faintest idea.  
  
"Kristas," he asked one of his men, "What is it?"  
  
"I don't know, sir," Kristas replied. "It's on a chain, it's a thin piece of metal with holes punched in it. Perhaps it is a key?"  
  
"A key? To what?"  
  
"I don't know, to the site?"  
  
"Maybe. Keep it safe, Kristas, it may become useful in the future."  
  
"Right."  
  
Kristas placed the key into an empty ammo compartment on his battle armor. The group headed off a bit, then paused. "What is it?" Kristas asked.  
  
"Footprints," Tacanda called back. "They lead off in this direction."  
  
The expedition went to follow the footprints.  
  
Sam wandered out of one of the TARDIS corridors into the empty control room. The time-rotor was motionless, so they must have landed. But where was the Doctor? Then she saw taped to one of the many TARDIS console levers, a note on bluish paper. It was signed by the Doctor, and it said simply, "Sam, We've landed. Went out to explore. Shan't be long. Planet habitable, but cold. It's a Thursday. Doctor."  
  
Sam sighed. This was the first time he had left her alone in the TARDIS. How could he dare to do that? She was determined to let him know she didn't like being left behind, so she pulled the lever the note was attached to. The doors slowly swung open. She stepped outside…  
  
…and nearly collided with a solid rock wall. There was no way around the TARDIS, so where could the Doctor have gone? He certainly couldn't have climbed the wall. Then she found the hole. Thrusting her head into it, she crawled out into the open. There, imprinted in the sand, were the definite prints of the Doctor's boots. The muddled footprints of others surrounded them. The Doctor was either being followed, or he had met someone, friendly or enemy, and had gone with them. Well, she might as well catch up with him. She took a breath and dashed off, following the footprints.  
  
The Doctor's attempts to break the seal in the doors had failed. No rock here could even scratch the metal these doors were made of. The weld was on the outside of the door. Someone had sealed the doors from the outside. But why?  
  
Then he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see ten heavily armored and armed figures walking towards him, their rifles all pointed at him. He remembered seeing that armor once before. Who were they?  
  
"Stay right there," the lead figure ordered.  
  
"Certainly. Who are you?" The Doctor replied.  
  
"Captain Tacanda of the TSS Avenger." The figure replied. His helmet was off, and the figure's face protruding from above the armor was perfect in nearly every way. His hair was blond and straight, and he had no facial hair, but he appeared to be older than the Doctor's current manifestation.  
  
"TSS?" The Doctor asked.  
  
"Thal Star Ship," Tacanda replied.  
  
"You're Thals?" The Doctor asked incredulously. So that's where he had seen that battle armor before.  
  
"Yes. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm the Doctor. I believe I've run in with your people a few times before."  
  
"The Doctor?" Tacanda was shocked.  
  
"Yes. What are Thals doing on Ettylos?"  
  
"That is confidential, Doctor."  
  
"That's what I thought. Do you know why this door is sealed?"  
  
Tacanda looked at his team, then back at the Doctor. "You didn't notice?"  
  
"Notice what?"  
  
"While we were following you, we came upon the remains of a humanoid. He was still clutching this." Tacanda tossed some tool to the Doctor, who caught it. He examined it closely.  
  
"A laser torch?"  
  
"Yes, Doctor."  
  
"But why weld up a pair of doors like this?"  
  
"That man was a Thal. He had been captured by the – by the people who used to work here." Tacanda complimented himself on saving those words. The Doctor had been known to denounce operations involving the enemy every time he was involved. "He managed to organize a revolt among the other slaves here and took out the base's power source. Then he welded up the door on the point of near death. He sent out a brief, low power distress call from his computer node. One of our scout ships picked it up and scanned this mountain. It seemed to be containing some sort of facility, so we were sent to investigate more thoroughly."  
  
"Were you? Who used to work here?"  
  
"We don't know. But it is a shock to find you, the hero of our people, here on Ettylos as well. In fact, it may be to our benefit."  
  
"Really now? In what way?"  
  
"Your scientific knowledge may be useful as we unearth what happened here."  
  
"But Captain, that man sealed this place up for a reason. He obviously didn't want someone getting in."  
  
"Or whatever was inside getting out."  
  
"Quite. By opening these doors we may be unleashing some dreadful force upon this planet, and us."  
  
"But Doctor, you were just trying to get in. If you are afraid of what is inside, why were you trying to open the doors?"  
  
"Well, whatever is inside may be long dead –"  
  
"Exactly. That is why we are going inside."  
  
"But –"  
  
"Well armed."  
  
"Very well."  
  
The Doctor handed the torch back to Captain Tacanda, who pulled out a fresh power cell and plugged it into the device. He handed it to one of his group, who went over to the door and began to cut along the bead.  
  
Sam was lost. The footprints mingled, doubled back, separated, and occasionally turned around. The group was had obviously been lost themselves. She couldn't discern the Doctor's footprints from those of the others, they were so muddled.  
  
Then a shape on the ground began to become apparent through the funny mist that shrouded this strange world. It was a human form, sprawled out on the rocky floor of this planet. One arm was outstretched, and it appeared to be clutching something. When she came closer, she noticed that the form was shriveled up, a dead man, mummified naturally by the dry, cold air of this planet. Then she realized that the air was dry, yet that mist still prevailed. She smelled it. The mist smelled like gas, the kind of gas used in gas furnaces back on Earth. Then perhaps the gas was flammable, she thought. Better not light a match on this planet!  
  
She stumbled over a rock as she turned in pursuit of whoever made those footprints that still glared up at her from the sand.  
  
The cutting was nearly done, when some of that strange mist that traveled close to the ground came in contact with the laser beam. A gout of flame erupted from the beam, and the man holding the welder jumped back.  
  
"What happened?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"That mist appears to be flammable," the Doctor replied. "Odd. I'm surprised you were able to land with all that mist about."  
  
"When we landed, there was no mist," Tacanda replied.  
  
"Really? Now that's very interesting. That means it's peculiar to this mountain, or just this crater."  
  
"Could it be waste gas from volcanic activity? This crater is quite deep."  
  
"Yes, but if it were that deep, we would have felt it getting warmer as we came here. No, I think it's some sort of natural gas, perhaps from a geyser. We must be cautious as we continue on."  
  
"Yes, well, the cutting's almost completed, we should be through soon enough. Continue on, Delani."  
  
"Yes, Captain," Delani replied.  
  
The team fanned away the gas as Delani continued the cutting. Then it was completed. They let the metal cool for a time, then half of the group each grabbed a door, pulling with all their might. The joints had been corroded over time, and the going was tough. Then the doors were open. Inside, the air was stuffy with stagnation, and the area beyond the doors was a long, thin passage that led off to the right. The floors were a dull, smooth metal. Next to the doors on one side was a small control panel, with odd half-spherical controls protruding from it. The corridor led off into darkness. The Doctor and Tacanda peered around inside the passage, then Tacanda turned back to his group.  
  
"We'll need torches," he said.  
  
The group took out their flashlights and turned them on. Tacanda did likewise. He turned back to the Doctor.  
  
"Well, Doctor, shall we go in?"  
  
"Very well."  
  
The group proceeded down the hallway, their torches casting reflections off the metallic walls.  
  
Sam saw, looming out in the distance, a mountain. It was huge, with a tall, thin shape, and a craggy surface. Sets in the rock face at the base of the mountain were two iron doors, currently open, which led into darkness. The footprints appeared to head into these doors. She may have caught up with them at last. She almost threw herself into the passage, but slowed down when she realized it turned abruptly right at the entrance. She walked, very cautiously, into the darkness, searching in vain for a light switch on the smooth, metallic walls.  
  
The torches' lights bounced around, touching nothing but smooth metal all over. Then a light settled upon a control panel next to a closed door. The controls were also of the strange, half-spherical type. Two large buttons and a sort of bar level indicator, normally used on stereos to measure volume, graced this panel.  
  
"A lift," the Doctor said with growing interest.  
  
"I hope it's still powered," Tacanda mused aloud. He went over to the panel. "Doctor," he said. "Can you try to make this one work?"  
  
"Perhaps," the Doctor said as he went over to help the captain. Meanwhile, one of the captain's group, a man called Elyon, turned his back to the group and headed off down a passage. He produced a communicator from an armored case on his suit, switched it on, and spoke into it.  
  
"We have found the entrance and penetrated to the lift shaft. They are attempting to access the control panel," he said.  
  
"Stand by," a voice on the other end replied. There was a pause. "This will be our last conference. The control center is located four levels down. Once you are there, reactivate the task force by way of the power manifold. You must connect the generator we have given you to the red main power coupling. Once that is completed, revive the task force by activating the green control. Then present the document you are carrying to the one in charge immediately, or you will be exterminated on sight. Then await orders."  
  
"We met a man along the way, his name is the Doctor. He has been helping us with a few minor things around here. What shall be done with him? He is not a Thal."  
  
There was another pause. "The Doctor is our enemy. He must be exterminated." Then a slight pause. "No. If the task force insists on exterminating him, present your document and inform them that I order them to keep the Doctor alive until I arrive. Then I will deal with him."  
  
"Very well."  
  
"Proceed with your orders."  
  
Elyon switched off the communicator, pocketed it, then went back to the group.  
  
In the meantime, the Doctor and Tacanda had deciphered the control panel and the door opened. Within, a dimly lit lift still retained enough power to stay in one place in the shaft.  
  
"Remarkable!" The Doctor exclaimed.  
  
"What?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"I mean, this base has been powered down, you said. That dead chap destroyed its reactor. How, then, could this lift still be operational? Unless…"  
  
"Unless what, Doctor?"  
  
"Unless it ran on…" The Doctor glanced at the panel. A faint red section of it was lit. "Emergency power!"  
  
"Well, Doctor, where shall we go?"  
  
The Doctor climbed into the lift and studied another panel inside. On this one was a single, half-spherical knob, above which a clear panel showed a circular dial turned to a particular symbol.  
  
"Everybody coming?" He called to the others. The expedition filed into the lift and shuffled a bit. The Doctor studied the dial. "Well, I can't make much of it," he admitted. "Will someone else give it a try?"  
  
Elyon abruptly reached over and spun he dial. Luckily, it landed on the symbol he wanted. The Doctor looked at him. "Thank you," he said kindly.  
  
"My pleasure," Elyon replied. The lift door closed, and all inside could feel it descend downwards.  
  
Sam nearly slammed into the closed door at the far end of the corridor. The darkness had frightened her into running. She had called out, but the sound died away as she thumped into the door. Hopelessly, she sighed. The Doctor and the others with him must have gone through the door. She glanced at a control panel next to it. As she looked, a bar on the panel began to drop. The door obviously led into a lift. She had just missed them!  
  
Angered, she turned and found another corridor leading off from the main corridor. She began to head down it.  
  
The lift came to an abrupt halt. As the door slid open, the Doctor came face to face with something almost totally unexpected – a Dalek!  
  
Instinctively, he turned to hit the dial again, but then he noticed that it didn't move. All three of its sticks hung loosely from their sockets. This was a gray one, and what it was doing right in front of the lift was beyond the Doctor. More importantly, what was beyond him was why it was here.  
  
Gingerly pushing it aside, he stepped out into a dimly lit room some twenty feet across. It was roughly octagonal, with its walls covered in screens, displays, and half-spherical buttons or disc-shaped dials. Strewn about the place were inert Daleks, mostly red ones, but occasionally some in blue and a few in gray. One prominent black-colored Dalek with silver-colored bumps on its lower section sat inert before a clear glass globe on a stand. It was guarded by two gray Daleks, one of which had its gun-stick still pointed at a decaying man on the floor.  
  
"Daleks," the Doctor said with enmity. He glanced at the Black Dalek. "This must have been a very prominent base, too, with a Black Dalek in command. And look at how many Red Daleks it had under its command! Such a base must have warranted slaves, too, and by the look of it, the revolt that dead fellow organized even reached into this room!"  
  
"Yes, Doctor," Tacanda replied smugly.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" The Doctor demanded of him.  
  
"Because you would have tried to stop us," Tacanda replied. "And with your knowledge of technology, we needed you to help us get what we want. We would have had a much harder time if you had left us. So we kept you ignorant."  
  
"What could you possibly gain from a base full of dead Daleks?" The Doctor asked.  
  
"The plans for probably the universe's most powerful weapon ever devised," Tacanda told him. "A missile that transcends time and space! This task force was developing one, and if it hadn't been stopped by that slave revolt, the Daleks might have built one and used it on us! Now we're going to get these plans and use it against them!"  
  
"A missile that transcends time and space?"  
  
"Yes, Doctor, we don't know exactly how it works, but the mention of such a missile was included in that dead man's distress call. We, being a military expedition, were sent to investigate. Now that we're here, you will help us to access the Daleks' system files and download the plans for this missile onto a data crystal to be taken back to my ship for transport back to the High Command."  
  
"What makes you think I will help you? This missile shouldn't fall into either of your hands! Why should I help you?"  
  
Tacanda raised his rifle's barrel to meet with the Doctor's face.  
  
"Because you have no other choice," Tacanda said.  
  
Sam stumbled down the dark corridor, feeling around all the while for a door or opening of some sort. Then she found one. A single knobby control was located to its side. This she ran a hand over. Instantly, the door slowly slid open.  
  
Daylight nearly blinded her. She was not out in the open, though. Above and around her, a cylindrical chamber extended up to the summit of the mountain, in which a wide hole had been cut. Lining the walls of this cylinder were level upon level of balconies, which ran the circumference of the walls. Extending from each balcony were a few long bridges, which connected to a huge, cylindrical missile that stood in the center of the chamber. It was a dull silver color, and had been slightly rusted by the obvious rainfall that had to come from those dreary gray clouds that diffused the sunlight all over this planet. On her level, Sam could see the remains of a humanoid person spread-eagled against one of the missile's rocket nozzles. Above him, a hole had been blasted in the side of the rocket, and that gas she had been walking around in had been leaking from it. It was warm here, so it was relatively clear, but it nearly suffocated her as she stepped out into the chamber. This chamber had obviously filled up with the gas and overflowed, the colder air outside cooling it off and making it visible, thus creating that flammable mist outside. She had no more time to think before she suffocated, so she dashed back into the corridor and closed the door.  
  
The Doctor, urged on by the rifle barrel of Tacanda, began to examine the various control panels in the Dalek control room. One Red Dalek was stationed before a panel, on which a dial had been turned to a symbol of a lift.  
  
"The Emergency Power panel," the Doctor stated. "They had it partially redirected to the lift services. Perhaps to facilitate that Dalek by the lift door to go out and chase down the Thal who led the revolt and stop him from sealing the entrance."  
  
"But obviously that drained the power to the command center," Tacanda pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but you should know the Daleks can store power, Captain," the Doctor replied. "They obviously thought that they could temporarily redirect power to the lifts to let that Dalek go out and chase down the Thal. What they didn't count on was that the Thal was still in the lift. While they waited for the lift to descend again, the power to the floors – that's what they get their power from – completely drained, leaving the rest to the lifts. Even if the lift had arrived, which it didn't because the call button was never pressed, the Dalek would have never made it into the lift. Why? Their personal batteries hadn't been charged enough. They all went dead just as the Thal stepped out into the corridor above."  
  
"But wouldn't the lift's power have drained also?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"No," the Doctor replied. "The Emergency Reserves only drain if they are in use. The Daleks were all inert, and the Thal had finished with the lifts, so the power remained until we just arrived and used up some of it."  
  
"Is there enough to get us back up to the surface?"  
  
"Oh, I hope so," the Doctor replied. "Or else we'll be entombed here like our dead friends." He tapped a knuckle on the Red Dalek's casing. He turned to the dial, and moved its indicator over to a symbol representing a computer terminal. Instantly, the lift console by the lift door went dead, and a console next to a monitor nearby lit up, dimly.  
  
"Why is it so dim?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"Well, all the Emergency Power isn't powering just this panel, it has to power every computer in the whole base. Just as all the Emergency Power had to power every lift in the base, that's why it was so dark in the lift." The Doctor answered. He turned to the computer panel. "Now, let's see if I can get you your plans," he said with annoyance.  
  
Elyon slowly produced a small, spherical object from a case on his armor. It pulsed with energy. He quietly walked over to the power manifold. It was a glass case, inside of which a metallic red, hose-like apparatus hung limply. The glass had been shattered, and sharp edges threatened to slice his hands as he carefully inserted the sphere into the case and reconnected the hose to it. The globe's pulsing continued. A man from the expedition noticed what he was doing.  
  
"Hey! What are you –" he began. Elyon threw up his rifle and fired. The man's head was seared away by the energy and his lifeless, headless body collapsed to the floor. The gun was made to destroy Daleks, so the damage it could inflict on human matter was immense. The other Thals turned at the noise. They saw Elyon with his rifle still pointed at the dead man's body, and put up their own rifles.  
  
"Stay where you are!" A man shouted at him.  
  
"Hmm?" The Doctor asked. Then he saw Elyon by the power manifold. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Elyon! Stop it, you madman!" Tacanda shouted.  
  
Elyon reached over and pulled down a green lever by the power manifold as he dove to avoid Tacanda's fire. Instantly, all the consoles and lights in the room became active. The Daleks began to awaken.  
  
II  
  
The expedition was frozen with terror as the Daleks' eye-, sucker-, and gun-sticks became active. They began to stir, each Dalek surveying the room, then sighting the intruders. One man dove to rip the sphere from the power manifold, but a Blue Dalek fired at him. The man cried in agony as his smoldering corpse fell to the floor. The expedition became active, starting to fire at the Daleks with their rifles. The Daleks returned the fire. In the chaos that followed, Elyon rushed over to the Black Dalek, who was still trying to come out of its disorientation. It did not turn to face him immediately as he shoved the document he had been carrying in front of its eye-stick. It read the document. The Doctor, meanwhile, dove for the floor and covered his head in his hands. Captain Tacanda was firing relentlessly at the Daleks with his rifle. Dalek fire splashed off his protective armor. His helmet had been put back on during the fighting. Two Daleks targeted him now, their combined fire beginning to deal some damage. The Doctor saw the Dalek by the lift door swivel around and sight Tacanda. Its gun-stick trained on the Thal. The Doctor called out to him just in time. The captain dove just as all three Daleks' fire flew to destroy him. Instead, they impacted on a few consoles, shattering them. The Doctor saw the Black Dalek speaking to the traitor. He hastily pulled out his sonic screwdriver and rushed over to slap it on the Black Dalek's dome and kill it. Elyon saw him just in time and rushed over, shoving the Doctor to the floor. The Black Dalek advanced on him, training its gun-stick on him.  
  
"You are the Doctor," it grated. "You are the enemy of the Daleks. You must be exterminated."  
  
"No! Wait!" Elyon shouted to it. "I was ordered by the Gold Dalek to tell you to keep him alive. The Gold Dalek told me he must stay alive so that he may be adequately punished for his crimes against the Daleks!"  
  
The Black Dalek paused, assimilating the information. "Prove this," it ordered. Elyon pulled out the communicator and showed it to the Black Dalek. The Black Dalek looked at it. "That communicator is of Dalek design," it stated.  
  
"Yes, and it bears the sign of the Fifth Gold Dalek, the commander-in-chief of this front," Elyon told it.  
  
"That is correct," the Black Dalek told him. "That is proof enough." Meanwhile, the Daleks in the control room had suppressed and disarmed the remaining Thals from the expedition. They were all removing their battle armor and surrendering to the Daleks. A Red Dalek glided over to the Black Dalek and spoke to him.  
  
"The intruders have been subdued," it informed the Black Dalek.  
  
"Put them in the slave quarters, and put the Doctor in with them," the Black Dalek ordered it. Then it turned to a Blue Dalek nearby. "Take a patrol and remove the corpses from the control room," it ordered.  
  
"I obey," the Blue Dalek replied. It glided off as the Red Dalek roughly ushered the Thals and the Doctor down the corridor. The Black Dalek turned its eye-stick towards Elyon.  
  
"How long have we been entombed?" It asked of him.  
  
"Our intelligence said that we received the Thal's distress signal a year ago. It took quite some time to organize an investigation and dispatch it. I would say you've been inert for about fourteen months," Elyon replied. "But I have served the Fifth Gold Dalek and have reawakened you. Now you can build your missile and use it on the Thals, and later on the whole of creation!"  
  
"The Daleks are the ultimate supreme force in the universe. We will not fail. The slave revolt was a temporary setback," the Black Dalek replied.  
  
"Will I get all that was promised?" Elyon asked.  
  
"I will personally see to it," the Black Dalek assured him in its electronic voice.  
  
Sam was almost crying. She had stumbled down these seemingly endless halls for hours. Exhausted, she collapsed to the metallic floor in the now brightly-lit hallway. It had made her start when the lights came back on, but she was grateful now. She turned to look back down the corridor – and was just in time to see a gray Dalek begin to round the corner to face her. She dashed off down the corridor, the Dalek in hot pursuit. Electronic bolts flew past her as it fired.  
  
"Human female intruder sighted on surface level," the Dalek grated seemingly to no one. The Dalek's fire continued to fly past. Sam dashed down a side alley and nearly ran into a Blue Dalek leading a team of gray ones drawing a cart full of dead bodies. It regarded her for an instant, then its gun-stick trained on her. She darted away from it, narrowly missing being shot by the first Dalek that was almost upon her now.  
  
Spotting a lift, she went to call it, but just then its door opened, revealing a Red Dalek inside. She spun wildly and ran down another corridor. She now had three Daleks on her tail, and was fast running out of breath. Thinking quickly, she darted into an alcove off the corridor that housed a grid-paneled chamber with a control panel. Not knowing what it was for, she began to pull at one of the panels. The gray Dalek chasing her came up and turned to face her. She dove for the far side of the corridor. The Dalek moved forward into the grid-paneled area and began to turn about to catch her. She instinctively hit a red button on the console. The Dalek faded away into nothingness. This must have been one of those TRANSMAT devices the Doctor was telling her about all the time. She stepped into the alcove and began to pull at the grid again. The Blue Dalek was almost here now, she hoped she could pull the same trick on it as well, but the Red Dalek would be smarter and harder to deal with.  
  
"Do not exterminate her," the Red Dalek called to the Blue Dalek. "She is the Doctor's companion. She may be useful to the Black Dalek. Set your neutralizer for paralysis."  
  
"I obey," the Blue Dalek replied. It turned to face Sam by the alcove. Sam dove for the far wall again, but the Blue Dalek merely turned to train its gun on her. She began to run, but the Dalek was quick on the trigger. A painful bolt of energy splashed over her legs, paralyzing them in an instant. She fell to the floor with a thud. The two Daleks extended their sucker-sticks and pulled her up to her feet. Two gray Daleks from the clean-up party moved forward.  
  
"Take her to the slave quarters," the Red Dalek ordered.  
  
"We obey," the two gray Daleks replied. They grabbed Sam between their sucker-sticks and dragged her down the hallway to a lift. As she was dragged away, she saw the Red Dalek turn to the Blue Dalek.  
  
"Return to your patrol," it ordered. "I will attempt to retrieve the Dalek from the TRANSMAT."  
  
"I obey," the Blue Dalek replied.  
  
The Doctor and the remaining Thals from the expedition sat dejectedly in the slaves' quarters of the Dalek base. Two others approached the two Daleks outside the open door, dragging Sam in their sucker-sticks. The Doctor saw this.  
  
"Sam!" He called.  
  
"Doctor!" She called back.  
  
"We were ordered to place this female in the slaves' quarters," one of the Daleks holding Sam stated. "Open the force field."  
  
"I obey," a Dalek by the door replied. It turned and pressed a half-spherical button by the doorway. Lights around the edge of the doorway turned off. It turned to face the prisoners. "She is paralyzed. Two of you come and retrieve her. Do not attempt to escape, or you will be exterminated. Move."  
  
Two Thals went over and took Sam from the Daleks. The Daleks retracted their sucker-sticks and moved away. The guard Dalek reactivated the force field, then turned to face the hall again. The two Thals plopped Sam down next to the Doctor.  
  
"Sam! What are you doing here?" He asked.  
  
"I got your note. Well, let's just say I don't want to be left alone again. I just had an awful bout in those corridors, and I don't intend to have to go through it again on some other planet," she replied.  
  
"They said you were paralyzed. Did they hurt you?"  
  
"A Dalek shot my legs. They just won't work, Doctor."  
  
"Won't work? Oh, yes, I had forgotten that…they can immobilize creatures by reducing the power to their weapons. They don't do it very often, preferring to kill instead, but it did happen to one of my earlier companions, lucky for him. Tried to run from the Daleks, the fool!"  
  
"Doctor, what are the Daleks doing here?"  
  
"Well, Sam, it seems the Daleks have invented some sort of missile, and they set up this base here as a site for its construction. But there was a slave revolt led by a Thal, and the Daleks were entombed here, totally inert, until these people came along. Oh, may I introduce Captain Tacanda and his Thal friends."  
  
"Thals?" Sam asked.  
  
"Yes," Tacanda replied. "We were sent here to find the plans for the missile so we could use it against the Daleks. But there was a traitor among us."  
  
"Yes, and he reactivated the whole base," the Doctor continued. "Now the Daleks can build this missile and use it, and with us out of the way, they can't be stopped…Ah! But why need slaves in the first place?"  
  
"To build the missile," Tacanda said.  
  
"Exactly," the Doctor replied. "And that must mean they had begun construction by the time the revolt was staged."  
  
"But now that they have no slaves, they can't continue construction!" Tacanda exclaimed.  
  
"Why need slaves, though, when the Daleks can do it themselves?" Sam asked.  
  
"Oh, Dalek master plans always require tiny, delicate parts that must be placed and positioned to exact measurements. The Daleks can't do such exact construction without slaves, so that means they have to contact their HQ for a new shipment. That gives us a bit of breathing space."  
  
Sam suddenly remembered something. "Doctor," she said.  
  
"Yes?" The Doctor asked.  
  
"I saw the place where they were building this missile," Sam continued. "It's done."  
  
The Doctor sat very still for a moment. "Well, well, well…" he said softly. "Then I guess they only need to repair it a little before they launch it, and then there's nothing we can do to stop it."  
  
The Black Dalek was stationed before its globe, on the inside of which an image of the missile was projected. The Red Dalek stationed at the Communications Center turned its eye-stick towards it. The Black Dalek turned to face it as it spoke.  
  
"The Dalek that was dematerialized in the TRANSMAT has been disintegrated," it stated. "The unprepared use of the TRANSMAT had destabilized its particle transmitter. The TRANSMAT is now unusable until it can be repaired."  
  
"Then it must be repaired when the need arises," the Black Dalek replied. "All work efforts must be concentrated on the repairing of the missile." It turned to face Elyon. "What are the Gold Dalek's orders on the use of the missile?"  
  
Elyon looked over the document the Gold Dalek had given him. "It is to be repaired for final inspection by the Fifth Gold Dalek himself," he told the Black Dalek. "He is to arrive in a kill-cruiser in about three days and will TRANSMAT down here to oversee its completion. He will be bringing the two keys for launch and will launch it personally. Then he will deal with the Doctor and leave the kill-cruiser here to defend Ettylos from Thal attack until their empire has been neutralized."  
  
"Then the TRANSMAT should have its repairs begun immediately," the Black Dalek told the Red Dalek. "See to it."  
  
"I obey," the Red Dalek replied.  
  
The Black Dalek looked at the globe, noting the gash in the fuel tank of the missile. "The fuel has been leaking out," it stated. "How long has this been going on?"  
  
"Ever since the slave revolt," Elyon replied. "The solid fuel inside had to be kept extremely cold for it to solidify so you could store more inside. Well, during the revolt, as far as I can piece together, a Dalek blew a hole in the side of the missile as it fired at that man there," he pointed to the corpse underneath the hole, "and the warmer air outside heated the fuel, turning it to a liquid, then a gas, when it leaked out."  
  
"The fuel was solid propane," the Black Dalek told him. "We could not afford to sacrifice some of our kill-cruiser fuel for the project, so the propane was solidified for the missile's use. Propane is heavier than the atmosphere on this planet, so the gas must have filled up the missile silo before overflowing onto the countryside around it."  
  
"The gas has manifested itself as a mist in the crater outside," Elyon informed it.  
  
"Then it will provide adequate defense from Thal attack when the refueling ship lands," the Black Dalek replied.  
  
"Incoming message on this front's headquarters bandwidth," the Red Communications Dalek stated.  
  
"Forward it to me," the Black Dalek ordered. Instantly, an image of a Gold Dalek appeared inside the globe before it. The Gold Dalek paused before addressing the Black Dalek.  
  
"This is the Fifth Gold Dalek," it began. "My kill-cruiser is three days from impact on Ettylos. We have encountered a supply ship. Do you require any special supplies for repairs on the missile?"  
  
"Wait while I compute the amount of supplies the missile requires," the Black Dalek told it. It turned to another Red Dalek at a different station. "What is the amount of fuel left in the missile?"  
  
"Eleven point one four two one zero five two six three two percent," the Red Dalek replied. "Which equals one thousand fifty eight point five cubic feet of solid propane. The amount of solid fuel is deteriorating as we speak due to the lack of refrigeration. Estimate only nine percent will remain solid by the time the Gold Dalek has arrived, which equals eight hundred fifty five cubic feet."  
  
The Black Dalek turned back to the globe. "We will require slightly over eight thousand six hundred forty five cubic feet of solid fuel for the missile. The remaining materials we already are in possession of."  
  
"My ship will arrive escorting a fuel carrier," the Gold Dalek replied. "Kill-cruiser out."  
  
The Black Dalek turned to another Red Dalek nearby. "What is the approximate time it will take to refuel the missile?" It asked.  
  
"Approximately forty six time segments," the Red Dalek replied.  
  
"And to repair the refrigeration unit in the missile?" The Black Dalek prompted.  
  
"Approximately two time macro-segments," the Red Dalek replied. "The prisoners will be useful in this instance. The refrigeration unit contains delicate circuitry."  
  
"Then take the prisoners out to work on the refrigeration unit after their rest period," the Black Dalek replied. "We must try to slow down the rate of fuel vaporization."  
  
"This missile," the Doctor said to himself, "Is what intrigues me. You said that the man's message told you it was a missile that 'transcends time and space'. What did he mean by that?"  
  
"We don't know, Doctor," Tacanda replied. "But it obviously warranted our attention."  
  
"Maybe he meant it TRANSMATs over to its target and then fires," Sam suggested.  
  
"No, no, no, no," the Doctor said quickly. "TRANSMATs always require a sending pad and a receiving pad. You can't just send, or else the object sent has its atoms scattered about the cosmos."  
  
"Doctor, when I was out in the corridors, I found a TRANSMAT pad," Sam started.  
  
"Excellent! Then we can get out of here!" A Thal interrupted.  
  
"And when a Dalek drove into it, I just hit this big red button and it disappeared. Surely it must have reappeared somewhere else," Sam finished.  
  
"Not unless there was a destination preprogrammed into it. If there wasn't, then that Dalek is scattered all around this sector of space. I just told you it needs a reception point," the Doctor said.  
  
"But, then, how does the TARDIS work? You said it uses the principles of TRANSMAT technology," Sam countered.  
  
"The TARDIS is very hard to explain, Sam," the Doctor said. "Basically, it acts as its own sending and receiving pad, with chronological transcendentalism thrown in."  
  
"Maybe that's the way this missile works," Sam suggested.  
  
"Maybe," the Doctor said. "But Dalek time travel is very crude and nasty. I doubt that they would use their Time Controller on such an important thing like a missile."  
  
"But you said they were going to use it to take the Hand of Omega back to their home base when they came to Earth in 1963," Sam told him.  
  
"That would have been very stupid of them," the Doctor said. "They could very well have disintegrated in space with such a huge power source in their streams…unless…"  
  
"Unless what?"  
  
"Unless they were going to go forward to the year 2164, when they had conquered the Earth, so they could get a starship to take the Hand back to Skaro. That would just be time displacement, a lot less risky than time and space displacement," the Doctor continued. "No, I think they've devised something more practical and less risky, but I'm not sure what."  
  
One of the Daleks outside the door turned to face them. "It is now the twenty second time macro-segment. The rest period will begin. Enter your dormant state," it grated.  
  
"Certainly," the Doctor said, lying down on the hard metal floor. He picked his head up to look at the Dalek. "Aren't you going to tuck me in?"  
  
The next morning, the Doctor awoke to the eye-stick of a Dalek staring him straight in the face. He jumped.  
  
"It is the seventh time macro-segment," the Dalek said to him. "The rest period is over. Awaken the others, then report outside for work duty."  
  
"If you say so," the Doctor replied. Then it hit him. Work duty? What kind of work did they want him to do? He asked the Dalek this.  
  
"You are to work on the refrigeration unit in the missile," it stated.  
  
"Ah," the Doctor said. He got up and awoke Tacanda, who went around to wake up his men. Then the Doctor gently placed a hand on Sam's forehead. She awoke slowly, and groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes.  
  
"What time is it?" She asked.  
  
"The seventh time macro-segment," the Doctor replied. "And Dalek time macro-segments translate roughly to about an hour, so it is about seven o'clock. We went to sleep at ten."  
  
"This planet must have a day about as long a Earth's," Sam said.  
  
"That is a one in a million occurrence," the Doctor said. "But at least we don't get time-lag on this planet. Can you feel your legs?"  
  
"Yes," Sam replied.  
  
"Good," the Doctor said. "That means the paralysis has worn off overnight."  
  
"Report outside for repair duty," the Dalek said.  
  
The Thals and the Doctor and Sam walked outside to see, in addition to their two guard Daleks, four gray Daleks and a Blue Dalek. The Blue Dalek glided up to the Doctor and grabbed his arm in its sucker-stick.  
  
"The Doctor is not to be allowed to have access to any of our equipment," the Blue Dalek said. "He will be taken to speak with the Black Dalek." It swiveled its eye-stick to look at the four gray Daleks. "Take the prisoners to the missile silo. Give them respirators. The propane is still enough to kill them in the silo."  
  
"We obey," the gray Daleks said. They shoved the Thals, including Sam, away down a corridor. The Blue Dalek released the Doctor and turned to the two guarding Daleks.  
  
"Take the Doctor to the command center. I must report to the silo," it told them.  
  
"We obey," the two guard Daleks said. They pushed the Doctor down another corridor.  
  
Sam was frightened when the Blue Dalek wanted to take the Doctor away, but she comforted herself by thinking they wouldn't harm him yet. She knew they had other plans for him, or else he and she would both be dead. The four gray Daleks escorting them down the corridor pushed them into a room lined with human-shaped radiation suits and other human odds and ends.  
  
"This is the slave equipment room," one Dalek grated. "Take one respirator and a box of tools." The Thals formed a line and began to take the expressed items while the Daleks eyed them carefully. Out of the original ten that were in the expedition plus Captain Tacanda, only five remained, including Captain Tacanda. Sam thought about trying to break out now, but six people against four Daleks weren't favorable odds.  
  
Tacanda thought to go for it, though. He reached into a hidden pocket on his shirt and pulled out a small, round pellet. A Dalek was about to react, but he threw the pellet at it before it could question him. The Dalek burst into pieces in a fiery explosion. Green ooze and electronics spewed from the gash in its casing. The remaining three Daleks were stormed by the Thals, two jumping on each one to try and turn it over. Sam jumped onto the one that Tacanda was trying to overturn. With a lot of work and struggling, the Dalek was capsized and all of its sticks went limp. The remaining two were similarly put out of action.  
  
"You all right?" Tacanda asked Sam.  
  
"Yes," Sam replied. "What was that stuff you threw at the Dalek?"  
  
"Dalekenium," Tacanda said. "The only explosive effective against them. We use it in our grenades. You can see what just two grams can do." He gestured at the exploded Dalek. "Let's make a break for it."  
  
"Wait!" Sam exclaimed. "They'll kill you on sight! We need some sort of disguise…ah!" She walked over to a fallen Dalek. "I've got an idea."  
  
"Just a minute!" a Thal said.  
  
"What, Kristas?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"Look," Kristas pointed at a camera embedded in a wall.  
  
"They'd have seen," Tacanda said. "Quick! Grab the Dalek! Let's get out of here!" Three Thals picked up a Dalek and followed Tacanda and Sam out of the room.  
  
The Black Dalek watched the Blue Dalek on his globe glide into the slaves' equipment room and survey the dead Daleks before gliding over to a communications panel and activating it.  
  
"Slaves' equipment to control," it stated.  
  
The Black Dalek pressed a button near its globe. "This is control," it replied.  
  
"The prisoners have destroyed one Dalek and immobilized two others. The fourth one is missing," the Blue Dalek stated.  
  
"We have seen this on our security monitors. They have taken the fourth hostage. They headed off in the direction of lift shaft five. Take a patrol and locate them. Punish them, then return them to work. Do not exterminate them. We need them to help repair the missile," the Black Dalek replied.  
  
"I obey," the Blue Dalek replied, then switched off the communications screen. The image on the globe changed to that of the missile.  
  
The Thals and Sam found the lift. Just as Sam was about to hit the call button, Tacanda stopped her.  
  
"What is it?" Sam asked.  
  
"The Daleks know the layout of this place down to every speck of dust. They would have predicted our coming here and probably sent a patrol to chase us down. We need to look for another lift," Tacanda told her. "Take the Dalek. Whatever you do, don't let its bottom touch the ground. That'll reactivate it," he said to the Thals. They nodded, and then the whole group headed off down a corridor.  
  
The Blue Dalek led its patrol down the corridor towards the lift. It had ordered similar patrols to cover all floors the lift touched. The patrols radioed in to the Blue Dalek, informing them that they were at the lift doors and ready to capture the prisoners. The Blue Dalek silently radioed them an order to stand by. Then, it turned and pressed the emergency switch on the lift control panel. Immediately, all doors that led into lift shaft five opened, and whichever patrol on the floor the lift was on would instantly report capture of the prisoners.  
  
Only there was no reply.  
  
The Blue Dalek checked in with each patrol, asking them if they had captured the prisoners. They all reported back in the negative. One patrol reported that the lift was on its level but it was empty. The Blue Dalek ordered the patrols to proceed to the next closest lift and try the same thing. They all acknowledged, then the Blue Dalek took its patrol off in the direction of lift shaft four.  
  
Tacanda and the others arrived at another lift. The door was already open, and it was empty. The Thals and Sam climbed inside, with the Dalek in their arms. Once inside, the door closed, and Tacanda pulled the Emergency Stop switch.  
  
"That'll keep them occupied," he said, then looked at the Dalek. "Okay, what did you want to do with that?" he asked Sam.  
  
"We can use it as a disguise," Sam replied. "We open it up, put someone inside, and we can pretend the Dalek captured us and is taking us to the control room. Then we can free the Doctor and get out of here!"  
  
"It's an idea," Tacanda said. "Right. Delani, you'll be the one that gets inside it. If Sam or I went inside, the Daleks would notice the missing person immediately and grow suspicious. If you do it, we'll have a better chance."  
  
"Yes, sir," Delani replied.  
  
"Then let's get it open," Tacanda said. He searched for a catch on the Dalek and found one. When he pressed it, the Dalek's top section with the eye-stick and grille-like apparatus beneath it opened forward on a hinge. He then told everyone to set the Dalek on the floor. They complied. He gasped as the green, slimy creature within the Dalek extended a tentacle-like limb and twisted it around his neck. Sam screamed.  
  
III  
  
"Get it off!" Delani shouted. Kristas came over and grasped the tentacle, trying to free it from Tacanda's neck, but the creature wreathed another tentacle around the captain's throat. Tacanda was choking and fast losing his vision and perception. More Thals joined to help Kristas. They managed to lift the writhing Dalek creature out of the casing and started to smash it on the wall of the lift. After two or three whacks, the creature stopped moving, and Tacanda stopped choking. Kristas unwound the tentacles from Tacanda's neck and tossed the slimy mass into a corner. Sam knelt beside Tacanda as he regained his breath.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine," Tacanda replied. "Except for nearly having my windpipe crushed."  
  
"Good," Sam said. "Now, let's get Delani into it."  
  
Delani lifted himself over the edge of the Dalek's casing and into it. As his feet slipped inside, he paused, then kicked something in the casing and a snap was heard.  
  
"What?" Sam asked.  
  
"The little tray holding the creature," Delani replied.  
  
"Oh."  
  
He finished lowering himself into the Dalek, and checked where his feet were before pulling in his arms. Then the others closed the top over him.  
  
"How are you?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"Cramped," Delani replied. His voice was muffled through the grille on the Dalek. "But at least this grille lets me breathe. Do I sound like a Dalek?"  
  
"No," Sam replied.  
  
"I'll try to find the speech unit," Delani said. After a pause, he said, "There's a little suction cup with electric wires trailing from it here. I'm putting it on."  
  
"Right," Tacanda replied. There was another pause, then Delani spoke again, this time his voice was digitized like a Dalek's.  
  
"Now how do I sound?" he asked in his Dalek voice.  
  
"Like a Dalek. That suction cup must be a microphone," Sam replied.  
  
"Actually, Sam, I'm not talking. I'm thinking. The computer reads my thoughts, and if my thought patterns are those of speech, the computer interprets it into audible sound," Delani replied.  
  
"Well, you still sound human," Sam said. "Think like a Dalek."  
  
"You will be exterminated," Delani replied, his voice in a monotone now. He sounded just like a real Dalek. Sam giggled.  
  
"Good, Delani," Tacanda said. "Can you work that thing?"  
  
"Just a minute," Delani replied, his voice like a digitized human's again. "It's full of controls. That's probably why they have tentacles. Stand back, in case the gun should go off."  
  
"Well, turn to face the wall," Sam said. "If you blast a hole in the door the Daleks will notice."  
  
"Very well," Delani replied. "Push me."  
  
The Thals turned the Dalek to face the wall, then stood back. The Dalek appeared to go out of control for a few moments, moving in every direction, its eye-, gun-, and sucker-sticks flailing wildly. Then, it slowly began to calm down, until its gun fired at the wall. There was a loud bang as a one-foot hole was ripped into the wall.  
  
"Sorry," Delani said.  
  
The Dalek calmed down more, until it deliberately turned to face Sam and moved over, extending its sucker-stick to push her against the wall. She gasped.  
  
"Delani!" Tacanda shouted, his voice more chiding than angry.  
  
"Sorry, Sam," Delani replied, moving back and retracting his sucker-stick.  
  
"Got it?" Tacanda asked.  
  
"Yes, I think so," Delani replied. "Throw out the creature."  
  
A Thal disgustedly threw the dead Dalek creature out the hole in the wall.  
  
"Let's go," Tacanda said, deactivating the Emergency Stop. He opened the door and was scared to death when he came face to face with a Blue Dalek and a party of gray ones. He moved back.  
  
"You will all be punished for your actions," the Blue Dalek replied. "Then you will be returned to work. Resisting the Daleks is a fruitless effort." Then it spotted Delani in his Dalek guise. "Did you subdue them?" it asked him.  
  
"I did," Delani replied, sounding like a Dalek. "I was the Dalek they attempted to take hostage. They replaced me on the floor, which reactivated me. I subdued them. They had no more explosives."  
  
"You have done well," the Blue Dalek replied. "You will escort them to the control center for interrogation and punishment by the Black Dalek. Why is the wall damaged?"  
  
"I used a display of power to subdue them," Delani replied. "They witnessed the power of the Daleks and submitted."  
  
"Take them to the control center," the Blue Dalek ordered.  
  
"I obey," Delani replied. Delani used his sucker-stick to push them out of the lift and into the corridor. As they went off, the Blue Dalek radioed his patrols to return to work.  
  
The Doctor stood before the Black Dalek in the control center as it explained to him that he must be kept from the missile due to the risk of sabotage.  
  
"What is this missile, anyway?" the Doctor asked it.  
  
"The missile is the ultimate weapon in the universe," the Black Dalek began in its grating Dalek voice. "It utilizes the tools of warping space to reach its destination."  
  
"How?"  
  
The Black Dalek glided over to a Red Dalek at a station with a large computer monitor. The Red Dalek turned its eye-stick to look at the Black Dalek.  
  
"Play the demonstration," the Black Dalek ordered.  
  
"I obey," the Red Dalek replied. It turned to the control panel and operated a few half-spherical buttons and dials. The computer monitor lit up and displayed a green wire-frame image of the missile. The image rotated until the nose cone of the missile faced the viewers, then zoomed in. A small object within the missile glowed orange.  
  
"That is a version of our TRANSMAT technology," the Black Dalek stated. "It warps space around the missile to create a temporary distortion that allows the missile to enter the exterior-space continuum."  
  
"Hyperspace," the Doctor mused.  
  
"Correct," the Black Dalek said. "This allows the missile to travel to its target in the least amount of time and with the least amount of fuel expended. It also safeguards the missile from attack until it reaches its destination. When its target is reached, the space distortion module creates an exit distortion that allows the missile to reenter the interior-space continuum. Then it fires its engines at full power until it impacts deep into the target's core, where it uses fusion destructive technology to eliminate its target. It is the ultimate weapon for power in the universe. With it, all species will soon witness the supremacy of the Daleks."  
  
"That's very impressive," the Doctor said. Then he remembered something from one of his past lives. His third regeneration…a mission from the Time Lords to avert the Daleks' very creation. The Time Lords told him that they foresaw a time when they would have destroyed all other life forms and become the dominant creature in the universe. Perhaps this was how their foresight came about. The missile…it could end the whole universe if he didn't stop them. "What would your first target be? The Thal home world?"  
  
"A plausible assumption," the Black Dalek said. "But incorrect."  
  
"Then where?"  
  
The Black Dalek said nothing, it merely stared back at him with its eye-stick.  
  
"Where?"  
  
The eye-stick watched him unwaveringly. The Doctor sighed.  
  
"Will I ever find out?"  
  
"The Gold Dalek will be arriving in two more days," the Black Dalek said. "You will learn then."  
  
Then the door opened, and a Dalek ushered in Sam, Tacanda, and the Thals. The door slid shut, and the Dalek addressed the Black Dalek.  
  
"I have captured the prisoners. They are to be punished, then returned to work," it said.  
  
"Good," the Black Dalek said. A Red Dalek glided over to the Black Dalek and interrupted it.  
  
"The TRANSMAT is still disabled," it said. "Repairs on it are hampering work on the bulk machinery of the missile."  
  
"We require more intelligent Daleks to do the repairs on the TRANSMAT, then," the Black Dalek said. "Exchange the Daleks on the repair party with Red Daleks."  
  
"I obey," the Red Dalek said. It glided over to the four other Red Daleks and ordered them to follow it, then all five went out the door, leaving the prisoners alone with the Black Dalek and its two personal guard Daleks. The Black Dalek turned to face the gray one that had brought the prisoners in.  
  
"Return to your patrol," the Black Dalek ordered.  
  
Without warning, the gun on the gray Dalek fired. The Black Dalek shattered into a fiery mass. The two guard Daleks fired in unison at the gray Dalek, who exploded. Only, instead of green ooze spattering its casing, the Dalek was spattered with blood.  
  
"Delani!" Sam screamed.  
  
The prisoners scattered around the room. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and slapped it on one of the Daleks' domes. The Dalek's sticks all went limp, except for the eye-stick, which pointed straight up. The other Dalek was quickly subdued by the prisoners' brute force.  
  
The Doctor stepped over to the red-spattered Dalek. "Was one of you in there?" he asked Tacanda.  
  
"Yes," Tacanda replied. "A good man."  
  
"Well, at least he took the most important Dalek here with him," the Doctor replied.  
  
"Doctor," Sam said. "Did you find out about that missile?"  
  
"Yes," the Doctor said slowly. "It's unstoppable."  
  
"What?" Sam asked, frightened.  
  
"Here, let me show you," the Doctor said. He pulled out a pad of paper from a pocket and tore out a sheet, then took out a pen. He hastily scribbled two dots on the paper, and labeled one "A" and the other "B". "Now, let's say the missile is launched from point 'A' with its target being point 'B'. If it were a conventional warhead, and if the paper was, say, known space, the missile would obviously travel from point 'A' to point 'B' over the surface of the paper, right?"  
  
"Yes," Sam said.  
  
"Well, this way it leaves the missile open to attack by the enemy, and massive amounts of fuel would have to be used as propulsion, so the plan isn't feasible by Dalek standards. So, to solve this problem, the Daleks invented a device to create a warp in space like this." The Doctor bent the paper so that point "A" was next to point "B", "The missile would travel through this area," the Doctor indicated the air between the two points, "known as hyperspace, to get to its target. It would use this path:" the Doctor drove the pen through point "A" and through "hyperspace" into point "B". "This would require only enough fuel to get the missile into space, and the missile would be untouchable as it went through hyperspace to reach its target. It is the ultimate weapon."  
  
"Well, now with the Black Dalek gone, the Daleks here have no leader," Sam said. "So they can't finish the missile."  
  
"Sam," the Doctor said. "The Gold Dalek in charge of this front of Dalek space is on his way to inspect the final repairs on the missile. He'll get here in two days, I think. Once he is here, though, with a whole shipload of Daleks as his guards, we can't stop them."  
  
"What about this little device here?" Kristas said. He was indicating the fusion power globe Elyon had used to power up the base. "With this gone, the Daleks will be dead again." He reached over to pull it out.  
  
A bolt of energy flew from an unseen source behind a bulkhead. Kristas was incinerated to ash in seconds. From behind the console, out stepped Elyon and from behind him glided…the Black Dalek!  
  
"You will all be punished in due time for your actions," the Black Dalek grated.  
  
The Doctor was dumbstruck. "How…"  
  
"We detected the distress signal given off by the Dalek when its top was removed in the lift. We also discovered the remains of a Dalek at the bottom of the lift shaft. It was supposed that the prisoners had placed one of themselves in the Dalek as a disguise. For protection, I had a decoy placed in the control room as I controlled it from behind this bulkhead. It was logical you would try to destroy me. The prisoners have done damage to our base, but they will be punished after their work is complete. As for the Doctor, you will be punished by witnessing the destruction of a planet for your actions against the Dalek race!" The Black Dalek called in a troop of gray ones. "Escort the Thals to the refrigeration unit," it ordered. The Daleks took Sam and the three remaining Thals, including Tacanda, out of the room. The Doctor was left alone with the Black Dalek and Elyon, who strode over and snatched the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor's hand.  
  
Two long days of work passed. Sam and the Thals were pushed to their limits in repairing the delicate machinery within the missile. Just to be safe, the Daleks had four guards on them at all times, while the Doctor was kept prisoner in the control center. Sam began to lose hope. The Doctor was helpless, the TARDIS was far away, there was no way out of the base, and she was always under the watchful eye of the Daleks. Several times she contemplated jumping to her death from the high balconies of the missile silo, but she always stopped herself by never losing hope in the Doctor. He had gotten her out of several tight places in their time together. Even in the direst situations he seemed to prevail. She shouldn't have been afraid.  
  
But on the third day, in the middle of work, a Dalek voice said over the intercom for the prisoners to be returned to the control center as soon as the repairs were completed. Shortly after, a Blue Dalek came around to inspect their work. When it was finished it led them back to the control room.  
  
The place seemed to be in the midst of a commotion. Red and gray Daleks glided about the room, in preparation for something. Then she saw the Doctor, looking disheveled and morose in a corner. Elyon, the traitor, was eyeing him closely, his rifle at the ready. Sam ignored him and ran for the Doctor.  
  
"Doctor!"  
  
"Hello, Sam," the Doctor said quietly.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"The Gold Dalek is arriving."  
  
"Have the repairs on the TRANSMAT been completed?" the Black Dalek asked a Red one.  
  
"They have," the Red Dalek replied.  
  
"Good," the Black Dalek ordered. "Set the controls to prepare for the Gold Dalek's arrival."  
  
"I obey," the Red Dalek replied, gliding off.  
  
"The TRANSMAT," Sam whispered.  
  
"What about it?" the Doctor asked.  
  
"That can be our way out," Sam told him.  
  
"Too dangerous," the Doctor said.  
  
"The Gold Dalek's ship is hailing us," a Red Dalek said.  
  
"Connect," the Black Dalek ordered.  
  
"I obey," the Red Dalek replied. On the inside of the Black Dalek's globe, an image of the Gold Dalek appeared.  
  
"We are entering orbit," the Gold Dalek said. "Is your TRANSMAT ready?"  
  
"It is," the Black Dalek replied. "We are prepared to receive you."  
  
"Then proceed to the TRANSMAT and await my arrival," the Gold Dalek ordered.  
  
"I obey," the Black Dalek said. The image in the globe vanished. The Black Dalek turned to the Daleks on the bridge. "We will proceed to the TRANSMAT. Take the prisoners."  
  
"We obey," the Daleks on the bridge replied in unison. Sam, the Doctor, and the Thals were ushered out of the room by a few Daleks and led to the TRANSMAT pad. The Daleks arrayed themselves around the pad. The chamber seemed to glow faintly orange for a moment before the unmistakable form of a Gold Dalek faded into vision. The glow died away. The Gold Dalek glided forward and eyed the Doctor and Sam before turning to the Black Dalek.  
  
"Is the missile repaired?" the Gold Dalek asked.  
  
"It is," the Black Dalek replied. "While the prisoners were repairing the refrigeration unit, Daleks were patching the damages to the hull. All that needs to be done is the refueling, then the missile will be ready to be launched."  
  
"Good," the Gold Dalek said.  
  
The TRANSMAT chamber glowed again, and another Dalek materialized, this one being gray. In its sucker-stick it held a glass case containing two metallic globes. The globes had a sort of prong extending from them. One globe was colored gold, the other metallic red. The Gold Dalek looked at the case, then back to the Black Dalek.  
  
"These are the keys for the missile," it said. "One is the key that arms it, the other fires it. They will be escorted to the control room once the refueling is complete."  
  
"Take the prisoners to their cell until the refueling is complete," the Black Dalek ordered four gray ones.  
  
The Daleks glided to the control room, with the prisoners being taken back to the cell.  
  
The control room door slid open, and the Daleks filed in one by one, each taking up it assigned station for launch. The prisoners were pushed up against a wall, facing a large computer screen. The Gold Dalek glided up to the screen, beneath which were two receptacles, one gold, one red. The Dalek carrying the launch keys glided up next to it. Before taking the keys from the case, the Gold Dalek turned to the Doctor.  
  
"Doctor," it began. "You have interfered with the Daleks' affairs on more than one occasion. You are our sworn enemy. Standing orders are to exterminate you on sight. Now you will pay for your crimes against the Daleks by witnessing the destruction of your home planet…Gallifrey."  
  
"This is only the beginning," the Black Dalek took up. "We will soon conquer the universe. With this missile as our instrument, nothing will stand in our way. And after today, not even the Time Lords will! Soon, all the universe will come to realize the supremacy of the Daleks!"  
  
The Gold Dalek took the gold key from its case and placed it in the gold receptacle.  
  
"Refueling completed," a Dalek voice said from the intercom.  
  
"Beginning countdown to launch," the Gold Dalek announced. It turned the key. All Dalek eye-sticks in the room were fixed on the screen, which displayed a view of the missile from within the silo, as a regular electronic beeping filled the room. The Black Dalek began counting down.  
  
"Fifty…forty-nine…forty-eight…forty-seven…forty-six…forty-five…"  
  
Tacanda knew he could do nothing. The whole universe would soon fall prey to the Daleks, and he could not do a thing. He felt ashamed. He would rather die than see this day. Then, he spotted the fusion globe, still connected to the station feeds in its container. Maybe he didn't have to see this day. At least he could die trying to save the universe. It was a good way to go. He lunged for the globe and ripped it out of the feeds. Instantly, the lights went dim, the beeping stopped, and the Black Dalek's voice droned away into nothing. The prisoners stood shocked for a moment, then they saw Tacanda lying on the floor, clutching the glowing fusion globe. The Doctor was about to congratulate him, when Elyon whipped around, his rifle at the ready. He was going to kill Tacanda.  
  
"NO!" Sam screamed. She ran over and grappled with Elyon, who merely threw her off. The Doctor quickly kicked the rifle from his hands as he pulled Sam out of his line of fire. Elyon pulled out his knife and clicked it open, then charged at the Doctor. Tacanda tripped him, and he fell. The two Thals grappled for a moment, then Elyon drove his blade hard into Tacanda's stomach. Tacanda gave a high-pitched squeak and crumpled to the floor. Sam screamed and the Doctor clutched her arm. Elyon laughed and picked up the fusion globe. He went to insert it back into the feeds, but a bolt of energy seared his arm away. He cried in pain and turned to see Tacanda on the floor, clutching the rifle. He angrily rushed towards him. The two men each grasped the rifle, trying to turn it towards the other. The rifle barrel was pointing at the metallic floor when Tacanda pulled the trigger. Both Thals were engulfed in a blinding blast of energy, and their charred corpses lay motionless. The fusion globe still lay on the floor near the energy feeds.  
  
It took the Doctor a minute to realize Sam was crying. He gently patted her head. The two Thals left came over. The Doctor led them all to the lift, leaving the inert forms of the Daleks as testament to what had happened there.  
  
Later, on the surface, the Doctor and Sam bid adieu to the Thals. The Doctor told them to inform the Thal central command of what had happened here, and to place a quarantine on the planet, or destroy it, whichever was more effective at keeping the base from being reactivated. Sam and the Doctor then silently turned and left, heading back for the TARDIS.  
  
When they arrived at the hole in the rock face, Sam asked the Doctor what would happen to the missile and the Daleks' plan.  
  
"Well, I think we can leave that up to the Thals," the Doctor said as he climbed into the hole.  
  
"But what about the Dalek killcruiser that's in orbit?" Sam asked.  
  
"The Thals still have their scout ship," the Doctor said. "Which is faster and more agile. They'll be able to escape. And mind you, this planet is in Thal territory. The killcruiser won't remain here for long. I think our work is done here." And with that, he vanished into the hole. "Ah, good," he called back. "You remembered to close the TARDIS door when you left. That should have kept anyone from getting in." There was a pause. "Do you have the TARDIS key?"  
  
"What?" Sam asked.  
  
"I don't have the TARDIS key," the Doctor said. "Do you have it?"  
  
"No," Sam said after checking her pockets. Slow, sickening horror crept into her mind. "The Daleks must have taken it from you."  
  
"Then it is back in the base," the Doctor said slowly.  
  
"Yes," Sam said. She wanted to faint.  
  
Elyon slowly and painfully came to life. He was charred and had an arm missing. Sprawled next to him was the lifeless form of the Thal captain. The floor around them was blackened. It had dispersed the rifle blast to cover both of them, but it lessened the damage. The captain had perished from the knife wound after he had pulled the trigger, but Elyon was not mortally wounded. He slowly crawled over to the fusion globe.  
  
The door to the dead control room slid open again. Sam and the Doctor timidly edged into thee room, searching for the TARDIS key. There was a scraping, scratching noise coming from behind a Red Dalek near the power feeds. The Doctor came around the Dalek to see Elyon, clutching the globe with his remaining hand, inching towards the feeds. The Doctor rushed over and kicked Elyon in the head. The traitor fell motionless. The Doctor took the globe and the sonic screwdriver from his body, then led Sam out of the room in search of the key.  
  
A while later, the Doctor and Sam were standing once again by the hole in the rock, the Doctor clutching the TARDIS key. As he turned to enter the hole, Sam spoke.  
  
"Now it's all over," she said.  
  
"Yes, for sure," the Doctor replied, smiling. He tossed the fusion globe away and crawled into the hole.  
  
Suddenly, the ground shook menacingly, and a huge plume of smoke came from the mountain housing the missile silo.  
  
"Doctor!" Sam called. The Doctor turned, just in time to see the missile erupt from the mountain's peak and hurtle up into the atmosphere in a blinding flash and a deafening rumble. He stood dumbstruck for a moment, then said, "Quick! Get inside!" and hurled himself into the hole.  
  
IV  
  
The time rotor began to grate up and down as the TARDIS dematerialized. Sam nervously chewed a lip as the Doctor whirled about the console, flipping switches, turning dials, thrusting levers. He was frantic.  
  
"What happened?" Sam asked.  
  
"Someone or something manually launched the missile," the Doctor said quickly. "It's on its way to Gallifrey, and if I don't stop it, it will destroy it!" He threw a final switch. "There! We are going to land on the missile!" Suddenly, a huge disturbance threw Sam and the Doctor to their feet. The infinite ceiling of the TARDIS depicted a huge…hole…opening in front of the missile.  
  
"What's happening?" Sam asked.  
  
"The missile opened the distortion into hyperspace," the Doctor said. "We're being sucked in with it!"  
  
The TARDIS rocked again, then spun about giddily before the time rotor halted. The Doctor slowly got to his feet. The ceiling had gone black. Sam rose, too.  
  
"Where are we?" she asked.  
  
"We've landed," the Doctor replied. He hastily pulled the door control, and the doors swung open. He and Sam stepped out.  
  
They were at the top of a spiraling ramp. At the top of the ramp, a modest set of controls was set upon a flat panel in the wall. The ramp spiraled down into a pool of gray power far below. Standing before the controls, charred beyond recognition, was Elyon.  
  
"Elyon!" the Doctor snapped.  
  
"Ah, Doctor," Elyon replied. "So good of you to come." He turned and faced the Doctor, clutching the rifle with his good hand. "You will not move. I am in control of this missile. I will not let my masters' plan go to waste. Gallifrey will be destroyed, and you with it."  
  
"You're mad, Elyon!" the Doctor cried. "You'll aid in the destruction of the universe!"  
  
"That is my function," Elyon replied. "I am a Dalek agent, used by the Daleks—"  
  
"You mean brainwashed," the Doctor interrupted.  
  
"—to serve them truly," Elyon continued, undaunted. "Now, stay back."  
  
The Doctor fumed. He was stuck, but not for long. He charged at Elyon, and the two men went sprawling onto the slippery ramp.  
  
"Sam!" the Doctor called. "Go for the console!" The two men struggled for control of the rifle. Sam ran for the console and called back, "What do I do?"  
  
"Change the coordinates!" the Doctor called, struggling. "Blue readout!"  
  
Sam scanned the controls until she found a blue-colored LCD readout. "It says ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero-by-zero-two!" she called.  
  
"Change it to Ettylos' coordinates!" the Doctor cried. Elyon jerked the rifle and it went clattering down the ramp. He fixed his hand around the Doctor's throat.  
  
Sam had no time. She rushed into the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor. Elyon had pushed the Doctor over to the edge of the ramp. It had no railing, so he easily thrust the Doctor over the edge. The Doctor grasped the edge of the ramp, trying to gain purchase on the slippery metal. Far below, the freezing solid propane would freeze him and he would shatter to pieces instantly if he fell. Elyon smiled through a blackened face at him.  
  
"Die, Doctor," he said.  
  
Just then, Sam returned from the TARDIS and began pressing buttons on the console. Elyon jerked to look at her.  
  
"Get away from that console!" he yelled. It was all the Doctor needed. He swung a leg up onto the ramp and let go with a hand. With that hand, he pushed Elyon over the edge and sent him hurtling down into the solid propane. There was a distant shattering noise, as Elyon's remains scattered over the gray powder, frozen solid.  
  
The Doctor got up onto the ramp. He walked over to Sam. She had finished putting in Ettylos' coordinates, and he pressed a final button before grabbing her and tugging her into the TARDIS. Moments later, the blue box wheezed into nothingness.  
  
Inside the TARDIS, Sam watched as the missile reopened the distortion on the TARDIS' ceiling. Once again, they were sent to their feet as the TARDIS went through. Then, she watched as the Avenger cleared Ettylos moments before the missile impacted. There was a blinding flash, and afterwards, nothing remained of Ettylos but vapor and asteroids. The killcruiser had been destroyed in the blast. The Doctor said nothing before turning to the console and starting up the time-rotor again. He turned to Sam and flashed her a smile.  
  
"So the Daleks have lost their missile forever?" Sam asked.  
  
"Well, yes, I should think so," the Doctor said.  
  
"And as for the Thals?"  
  
"Oh, they'll send word around about the missile. Soon enough, every civilization fighting the Daleks would have devised a counter-weapon for the missile, and the Daleks' plan would be foiled. No need to worry. Are you all right?"  
  
"Oh, sure," Sam said sarcastically. "I've nearly been killed a few times, but other than that, I'm fine."  
  
"A cup of tea will do you good," the Doctor said, and he went off to make one. 


End file.
